How to convert varnished pine to dark walnut colour?

[coylum]

Hi,

I have a pine cabinet which has been finished with a clear varnish and I want to take it to a dark walnut colour with the grain still just showing through.

Can I do this without stripping it back to bare wood as this will be very difficult as it has many ornate mouldings?

I have achieved the desired colour on a varnished "teak" finish using one coat of Jarrah/mahogany Wattyl Stain & Varnish, followed by two coats of Wattyl Stain & Varnish Walnut but I am concerned that the lighter pine colour I am using here will not darken enough.

Does it matter if I apply even more coats to go darker or will this be too prone to chipping?

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks

[shine171]

Hi,
I think most people would suggest sanding it right back and starting the stain / varnish process again, but it sounds like it'll be pretty hard with the ornate pieces you have. If it was me, I'd varnish a piece of scrap wood and once dry, sand it as mush as you can and stain it again. If it isnt sanded at all, the surface would be too smooth / protected and I dont think the stain would sink in. If it doesnt work on the scrap piece, dont try it on your good piece. Regarding more than one coat of stain though, most manufacturers will have details of this on their cans, suggesting another coat for a darker finish if required. Hope this helps.

[coylum]

Thanks for the response.

I think I may have a solution.

Rather than using Stain & Varnish as the first coat I have tried just plain mahogany stain onto the sanded surface (not back to bare wood) and it seems to hold very well and the finish is quite dark (compared to the Stain & Varnish which doesn't penetrate at all). I will then apply two coats of Walnut Stain and Varnish to get the desired dark walnut colour - with a hint of the red mahogany showing through!

It's quite impressive how the plain stain seems to be absorbed into the sanded varnish layer - perhaps there are enough pinholes to allow it to soak through (?)

Anyway thanks again...

[Manuka Jock]

It sounds like you may have solved it . But as a precaution , try the whole process on another piece of timber as our mate said , just to make sure that the varnish does not loosen the stain and move it around bit , causing it to appear as if it has run

[coylum]

Yes, I wondered about that... I will do as you suggest and try the whole process on some scrap varnished pine before I commit ! Thanks

[ubeaut]

Quitew possible that the varnish will also not stick properly as it needs to adhere to the varnish beneath and the stain will be stopping this adhesion.

As Manuka Jock said the stain may be pulled off with the finish especially if it's compatible with the finish you could also end up with a horible looking sticky mess.

Cheers - Neil